Arranged
by Sunni-Chan
Summary: Levi Ackerman, son to a noble within wall Sina, captain within the Survey Corps and Humanities Strongest finds himself faced with an arranged marriage to Elsa Von Engel, also known as Elle, the daughter of another noble within wall Sina, after she joins the Survey Corps and finds herself within Levi's squad. What could go wrong? AU, Rated M for language and other themes. - HIATUS
1. Chapter 1 - Her First Frend

Attack on Titan AU –

In this AU you have to be 15 to join the cadets, so everyone will be turning 18 the year they graduate. Levi is also being aged down to around 22, having risen through the ranks to captain in the three years that Elsa is in the cadets.

Levi Ackerman, son to a noble within wall Sina, captain within the Survey Corps and Humanities Strongest finds himself faced with an arranged marriage to Elsa Von Engel, also known as Elle, the daughter of another noble within wall Sina, after she joins the Survey Corps and finds herself within Levi's squad. What could go wrong?

* * *

**Arranged Chapter 1 - Her first friend**

_Three years ago…_

Elsa had gone and done it. She had joined the cadets much to her father's disapproval, determined to show him that she wasn't just some pretty little thing that needed to be hidden behind wall Sina until she was of age to marry. She knew once she graduated from the cadets that she would be 18 and of age to be married off and that only made her more determined to pass and get into the Survey Corps. Her father had demanded that she at least pick the Military Police if she was going to go against his wishes and join the cadets but she had waved him down with a speech about how the MP are lazy and are good for nothing and… did her daddy expect her to become a lazy layabout, tucked safe behind wall Sina while other men and women risked their lives every day in the Survey Corps?

Realising he couldn't win this, he'd promised her that he'd find a way to keep her safe, the words had sounded hurt, cold, with just a tint of malice… but she knew it was just her father's hurt feelings having him speak to her like that… he was just mad that he wouldn't be able to keep her safe and wrapped up forever. She felt like a caged bird, just waiting for her moment to take flight and explore her freedom.

* * *

Elsa stood with the other cadets in line on their first morning, her long white hair tied back, shocking blue eyes forward, while Commandant Shadis shouted at each cadet he passed… though he didn't shout at everyone and she heard faint talking from somewhere behind her from some of the officers assigned to the cadets '_so why doesn't he shout at some of the cadets?'_ followed by _'those cadets were the ones who were there that day… the day Shiganshina fell to the titans… you can see the horror in their eyes, they lived it firsthand'_

Elsa remembered that day… the day Shiganshina fell. She'd actually been visiting with some friends within wall Rose when it all happened. She had born witness to the panic among those who managed to evacuate from wall Maria but she herself had not seen the titans.

"You, what is your name?"

She snapped out of her thoughts immediately and moved to salute, pretty features sharp and focused as she addressed the man before her.

"Elsa Von Engel, from Mitras within Wall Sina Commandant" she answered in a strong clear voice, which earned a few soft gasps among those present.

Commandant Shadis' mouth curled into a smirk "Looks like we have nobility among us, cadets…" he let out a harsh chuckling sound as he looked around at the other cadets gathered, before his eyes returned to her unwavering stance. "Just because you are nobility cadet, doesn't mean you are going to be treated any differently from anyone else. You are nothing special here, so don't think for one minute you'll be treated as such"

"No Commandant, I don't wish to be treated any different, I am here to learn, train and help humanity… with my life if necessary"

Commandant Shadis looked thoughtful for a moment and Elsa could swear she saw a fleeting look of respect pass in his eyes before he nodded "Good" and moved on to the next person.

* * *

Later that day, everyone was gathered in the mess hall… the 104th training corps. Elsa had found herself a seat in the back left corner, tucked in against the wall with her rations, eyes fixated on one of the textbooks they'd been given for their classes. She was so distracted that she didn't realise someone was talking to her until a hand swam into her line of vision and waved about a little. She snapped out of her trance and looked up, blinking lightly.

"So… you're from Mitras hmm? Why would you want to go and leave the safety of wall Sina?" a guy with blonde hair and dark eyes asked, a brow rose as he stood there looking down on her.

Elsa closed her book quietly and settled her hands in her lap, looking up at him "because I don't want to spend the rest of my life living the cushy lifestyle because it is 'my birthright' or some other rubbish… not while there are people out there fighting and dying for our freedoms"

"You're crazy… if I was a noble living inside wall Sina you can bet I wouldn't be willing to risk my life" he snorted "you are a rich kid idiot and probably will be one of the first to die… you don't know what it's like out there… it's not some kind of game you know" there was a vicious tone to his voice as he turned and walked off.

Elsa blinked a few times as she watched his retreating form, the room having gone quiet thanks to that little interaction. Biting her lip, she lowered her head a little as she thought about what he said… she didn't know what it was like out there, she had grown up within the safety of the innermost wall and she'd willingly thrown that all away to join the cadets with the hope to serve within the Survey Corps. What she did know, was that it indeed wasn't a game and she wasn't going to treat it as such. The room began to buzz with conversation again and Elsa could tell he wasn't the only one who thought that way… she'd seen some of the looks she'd gotten since she'd told Commandant Shadis who she was…

There were people here who clearly disapproved of her choice to leave the safety of her life within the third wall… they hated, or maybe resented her for having that kind of choice when some of these people had lost their homes and families when Shiganshina fell and so nobody had wanted to sit with her during dinner. Elsa was about to gather up her book and leave when she heard someone stop by her table.

"Don't listen to him… I think it's great that you don't want to hide behind a wall forever…"

Elsa looked up to see a dark brown haired guy with emerald eyes staring right back at her. She knew who he was… he was one of those who'd come from Shiganshina and had seen the horrors first hand.

"Oh… well thanks… I think" she offered him a small smile as she slid from her seat to stand.

Elsa wasn't much to look at, she was slender with pale skin and white hair, eyes like the aurora borealis that mostly looked an eerie bright blue until they caught the light, weighed probably around 105lbs and stood at 5'1. She was considerably shorter than the majority of her fellow cadets, aside from Krista who was a little shorter than her.

"You're welcome… don't let them kick you down just because you got a better upbringing than they did…" he paused "names Eren Jaeger" he offered his hand.

Elsa took it and shook it "Elsa Von Engel… nice to meet you Eren"

_**It was on that day she'd made her first friend.**_


	2. Chapter 2 - Pride

Attack on Titan AU –

In this AU you have to be 15 to join the cadets, so everyone will be turning 18 the year they graduate. Levi is also being aged down to around 22, having risen through the ranks to captain in the three years that Elsa is in the cadets.

Levi Ackerman, son to a noble within wall Sina, captain within the Survey Corps and Humanities Strongest finds himself faced with an arranged marriage to Elsa Von Engel, also known as Elle, the daughter of another noble within wall Sina, after she joins the Survey Corps and finds herself within Levi's squad. What could go wrong?

* * *

**Arranged Chapter 2 - Pride**

Quicker than you could blink, the weeks passed by them and in that time, Elsa had made more friends: Mikasa, Armin, Sasha (who she came to fondly nickname Potato Girl), Jean (much to Eren's displeasure), Conny, Krista, Ymir, Annie, Berthold and Reiner. She'd had little intention on finding friends, wanting to spend her time working hard and training so she could be the best that she could… yet she'd let these people into her life and it didn't seem so bad.

She surprised the other cadets during self defence classes, considering most of them believed she was just a spoiled rich girl with no talent. Elsa had managed to take on Reiner and put him on his ass much to his amazement and to the amazement of Commandant Shadis who was slowly realising she was worth her salt and wasn't going to be some cry baby who'd end up being shipped off home.

Commandant Shadis had expected her to be one of the first to go on day one, yet she continued to surprise him as time went on, proving she was leaps and bounds above most of the other cadets… aside from Mikasa, who was equally as formidable as her. He had been wrong about her but he wasn't about to say anything… not yet anyway _'we'll see if she actually graduates… some of them start off so strong, yet fall at the final hurdle'_ though he vowed that if she graduated, he'd admit he had been wrong about her, he felt it only fair to address his shortcomings.

In the classroom she was knowledgeable… even more so than the majority of the other cadets. Having a father who had once himself served in the military had proved to be an asset for her and she was able to quickly and correctly answer any question thrown at her. It had occurred to her once or twice that maybe her father's time in the military had been the catalyst for his enraged behaviour when she had told him she was joining the cadets… maybe he had seen the horrors on the outside of the walls first hand and didn't want her to go through it too… it was too late for that, especially now she was in the cadets and determined to graduate.

* * *

Weeks turned to months and they saw a drop in numbers as each day more people dropped out from the hard tasks they were put through. '_Weed out the weaklings early on and the strong shall remain' _was what Commandant Shadis had told them when one of the other cadets asked why the training was so stringent and harsh. It made sense though because honestly, once they graduated, unless they were going into the MP, anything they came across in the line of duty was going to be taxing and weaklings would only slow down the herd as it were.

Elsa's strong desire to join the Survey Corps didn't sit well with a select few people but she didn't care. She wanted to do something to help humanity and she was prepared to give her life if she had to, something else that just seemed to make those same people eye her with some kind of contempt that she'd chose to be potential titan fodder than go back home and be safe, since she had that luxury.

Luxuries aside, she was making the best out of this situation she found herself in, offering after dinner tutoring to anyone who was struggling in class or who was struggling with the self defence portions of their training. This had seemingly warmed a few of those 'haters' of hers up to her and she wasn't going to complain. Elsa wasn't about to leave anyone behind and if she could help others graduate, then so be it, she'd do what she could to be helpful if it meant she could avoid being targeted like she had in the beginning.

In her first few weeks, she'd been getting unnamed messages left on her bunk, threatening her to go home or she'd be sent home in a bag, that and her stuff would go missing. Thankfully the hazing had come to a stop once she had started offering help to those falling behind… it kind of let her know who it had been all along but she said nothing about it. She just wanted to do her time in the cadets, graduate and get into the Survey Corps and prove to her father that she could be a success. She didn't want to be seen as a weak little girl who needed 24 hour protection from the horrors outside wall Sina.

Commandant Shadis had been made privy to her extracurricular activities thanks to some of the other officers that had witnessed the late night study sessions and the late night training. At first, he had been angry, wondering why she wasn't about to let the weaklings weed themselves out but that anger was replaced with intrigue when he saw a great improvement all round from all the cadets, including herself. '_There is something about her… she is a great teacher but also a great learner… maybe there is a future for her after all this is over'_ of course he meant that it didn't look like she was going to be one of those cadets that joins a branch of the military and doesn't advance… no he had a good feeling she was going to be one of those to quickly rise through the ranks and maybe be a leader herself one day.

* * *

The months passed and soon enough they had completed their first year of training... then their second… and now finally they were approaching the end of their three year cadet training. It had been madness… they had been subject to so much that when they were finally allowed to start training with the 3DGM gear, they were suspicious. Honestly though, who could blame them? After everything they had gone through, this seemed too easy of a task… boy were they wrong.

Elsa watched as each cadet was strapped up to the frames and lifted up, only to see some of them topple upside down within seconds. It wasn't as easy as they thought it was going to be and even Elsa doubted herself.

"Holy shit… how do they expect us to do this?" Conny muttered next to her, tilting his head as they watched Eren flip backwards sharply and hang there, the sound of Commandant Shadis' disapproval in the air.

"I don't know…" Elsa spoke softly, watching Mikasa balance so perfectly.

"Well no use wondering, looks like we are up next" Jean spoke up, nodding to the cadets who were being untangled from their harnesses.

"Kirstein, Springer, Von Engel, you're up" Commandant Shadis barked as the previous cadets filed past him, rubbing their heads from the impact of hitting the ground.

Swallowing hard, Elsa stepped forward and moved over to the frames. You couldn't graduate if you couldn't complete this… 3DMG was a vital part of joining the military, everyone had to be able to use it and if you couldn't, then you wouldn't be able to join and you'd be discharged. She stood patiently as she was hooked up to the frame and exhaled slowly _'you can do this'_ she encouraged herself as the handle turned and she felt her body start to lift up from the ground.

Within a matter of moments, she was suspended in mid air, looking out over the gathered cadets, who looked stunned, realising that she had attained perfect balance just as Mikasa had done, which was only echoed by the comments from the other officers who were in charge of the hoisting system. It was rare indeed for someone to attain perfect balance and apparently the last time that had happened was with Captain Levi of the scouts… and now here they were with two cadets in the same training corps with perfect balance.

Later that day, Elsa found herself running after Eren who was clearly in a shit mood thanks to the 3DMG training earlier in the day.

"Eren… seriously… slow down" she finally caught up with him "hey… it's not so bad… we still got a couple of weeks before graduation…"

"I know" he snapped suddenly "but if I can't do this… then my dream of joining the survey corps dies here…" he stopped walking so abruptly that Elsa bashed into his side with a soft eeping noise.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to bash into you…" she sidestepped to put a little distance between them both "all I was going to suggest was that we take advantage of the frames being up and get you some extra training"

"That is exactly what we were just thinking"

Elsa turned to see Armin and Mikasa walking over, a soft grin on Armin's lips. "Apparently great minds think alike"

Eren looked to his two childhood friends and nodded "let's do this" and Elsa swore she could hear that spark of determination back in his voice as they headed on up to the frames in the fading light of day.

* * *

Time inched on and Eren couldn't seem to get it. It was only when Commandant Shadis demanded he switch belts with another that it came to light his equipment was faulty… Elsa had to wonder if Commandant Shadis had something to do with the faulty equipment but she'd say nothing. Of course once the belts were exchanged he was able to pass that module of training… what a surprise, not.

Graduation day was fast approaching and everyone was at somewhat of a loss as classes and training were now finished… yet they were expected to remain in the barracks until they got their official graduation… thankfully it was only a couple of days away so in the meantime, they were allowed some downtime... well after they scrubbed the entire barracks and packed their belongings away. Once graduation came, they'd be going off to their respective branches almost immediately.

Graduation came and Elsa found herself tied for first position with Mikasa, something the two girls congratulated each other on after the ceremony, when others were discussing where they were going to go in terms of Military Police, Survey Corps or Garrison.

"Cadet Von Engel"

Elsa turned and immediately saluted upon seeing Commandant Shadis. "Yes Commandant?"

"I was wrong about you" he started and she saw the way he stood… it was as if he was very painfully admitting he was wrong and it amused her on the inside. "I expected you to be one of the first to drop out… yet you proved me wrong and graduated top of the class with Cadet Ackerman… congratulations, the Military Police would be honoured to have you within their ranks"

Elsa blinked "but Commandant, I don't plan on joining the Military Police" she paused "I am joining the Survey Corps"

Commandant Shadis blinked a few times "well... that does surprise me… I figured you would put that perfect score to use behind wall Sina…" he paused and rubbed his chin "there is more to you than meets the eye Cadet Von Engel" he actually _smiled _at her before remembering the other reason why he was over here.

"Ah yes! Your father has come to see you… this way"

Elsa gave Mikasa and the others a very confused look before following Commandant Shadis along. Her father hadn't once visited her during her three years of training so why on earth would he be visiting her now?

* * *

Upon entering Commandant Shadis' office, the Commandant himself left the room, leaving Elsa alone with her father who looked his daughter over lightly, noting how much she had grown in her time away before speaking.

"Elsa…"

"Father" she answered sharply, that military training evident in the way she addressed him and how she stood at ease before him.

"I heard you graduated top of your class" he scratched his chin lightly.

"Yes father, top class placement, equal with Cadet Ackerman" She wasn't sure what exactly her father wanted and it was eating at her slowly.

"I… I'm proud of you"

Silence reigned over the room, Elsa's eyes wide and unsure of how to react… he hadn't been proud of her for so long now that she wasn't sure if her mind made up those words or if he actually said them.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly, eyes flicking from his eyes to his hands and back again.

"I said I am proud of you Elsa… I honestly didn't expect you to come top of the class or least of all graduate…"

"I…" she started, her voice failing on her as her sight began to swim before her, eyes brimming with tears.

Her father stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, tugging her into a hug "I am so proud of you my girl…"

His words echoed in her head and she buried her face into him, her body shaking as she sobbed quietly while trying to compose herself. Finally she pulled back and looked up at him with watery eyes. She could see the pride there… but there was also something else hidden behind his jewel blues… a secret she was sure would come to light when necessary, even if she did want to challenge him, she didn't want to ruin this moment…

_**Father was finally proud of her.**_


End file.
